Growbot
From toy to titan
Growbot is an arcade destruction game where you play as a robot toy, smashing objects to grow bigger and rack up the highest score possible.
This project as created in unity during 3 weeks with a team of 15.
This was my first school project and it taught me a lot about teamwork and collaborating within a group. The game idea started from a mechanic I pitched, which the team decided to build the entire project around.
My main focus during development was level design. I created the city and neighborhood areas using a mix of our own assets and ProBuilder, making sure the environments supported both fun gameplay and visual variety.
My work
My main responsibility was level design. I created city and neighborhood environments using ProBuilder and custom assets, focusing on layouts that supported the game’s core mechanic: destruction and growth.
One of my key levels was built around a progressive scale experience:
Sandbox – The player starts in a small area, destroying simple targets as a quick tutorial to learn the core mechanic.
Garden – As they grow, the level expands into a garden with larger objects to smash and new spaces to explore.
Neighborhood – The experience then shifts into suburban streets, where fences, houses, and street props become the next challenge.
City – Finally, the scale peaks in a city environment filled with towering buildings and larger obstacles, providing dramatic moments of destruction.
This progression was deliberate and structured. Each stage introduced larger spaces, more complex layouts, and increasingly impactful destruction reinforcing the player’s sense of growth, power, and momentum.
Watch some gameplay!
level design Process
I started with a simple blockout for the beta build, mainly to get a feel for the game’s movement and pacing.
From there, I moved to Miro, where I iterated on the design based on team feedback and playtest results. This is where the general layout of the map really took shape.
One of the toughest calls came later in development: we decided to cut the level in half. Most of it was already built, but balancing issues slowed the pace of the game. Trimming it down made the experience faster and more engaging. Looking back, it was the right choice and it taught me the value of “killing your darlings.”
My overall goal with the design was to capture the feel of a Saturday morning cartoon city something believable enough to exist, but exaggerated and playful in a way that invites exploration. Considering the limited assets I had access to,
I’m proud of the result.
Here is a quick paper prototype I made of the game progression.
This was the final result of the 4 weeks I spent o this project
This was the beta map.
Final level reference
Challanges
This project taught me more than any I’ve worked on so far. It wasn’t easy, and the game still has its flaws, but I really enjoyed the process of bringing the idea to life.
I believe the result could have been stronger with more time and better preparation.
In the beginning, our team struggled with decision-making, planning, and overall structure. By the final week, however, we had found our rhythm and learned how to collaborate effectively and that’s when everything finally started to come together.
Reflection
Looking back, this project pushed me to grow both creatively and professionally.
I learned how to design with intention, adapt to feedback, and make tough choices for the sake of the player experience.
Most importantly, it showed me the value of iteration, teamwork, and trusting the design process.
And for my first time working in a team of this size, I think we created a fun little project to be proud of.